Distinguished Service Awards, Producer Associations and State Governments from the Mexican States of Guanajuato, Querétaro, Sonora, Tlaxcala, and Zacatecas (Mexico), 1954-60

First “Golden Spike of Wheat Award” (Sonora, Mexico), 1962
Distinguished Citizen Award, Cresco, Iowa (USA), Cresco Centennial Committee, 1966
The 1967 National Distinguished Service Award, American Agricultural Editors Association (USA)
Sitara-I-Imtiaz (Star of Distinction), Government of Pakistan, 1968
The 1968 Genetics and Plant Breeding Award, National Council of Commercial Plant Breeders (USA)
Citation and street named in his honor by Citizens of the State of Sonora, and City and Rotary Club of Cuidad Obregón, Sonora (Mexico), 1968
Distinguished Service Award by Wheat Farmers of the States of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh (India), 1969

Consultant Food and Agriculture Organization of U.N. (F.A.O.) in North Africa and Asia, 1960

Director of Wheat Research and Production Program, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, (CIMMYT), 1964-79: Acting Director, 1981

Ex-Officio Consultant on Wheat Research and Production Problems to many Governments in Latin America, Africa and Asia, 1960-

Senior Consultant to CIMMYT, 1979-

Honorary Visiting Professor of the University of Minnesota (USA), 1980
One of the aims of the project beyond recapping Dr. Borlaug’s life and updating from the 1970s to the present was to give a fair sense of the man, the individual at 90. The emails acknowledging his birthday contributes partially to this. Finally, the following interview with Dr. Borlaug takes us to the present day September 29, 2004.
On September 28, 2004, I interviewed Dr. Borlaug by phone from his office in Texas. I asked him three basic questions. Following are the questions and some comments he made in response.

Could you give a few personal anecdotes or observations about a couple world leaders you have worked with over the years?

On the late Indian Prime Minister India Ghandi – “She left most of her decision making to her ministers … they didn’t feel they knew enough about scientific agricultural matters … she insisted all Ag professors plant a demonstration garden plot in their yards to show the public how well the fertilizer worked…”

On the later minister of agriculture in Pakistan, Malih Kada Baka – “dynamic, a great spokesman … he got on tv and told people how to plant … he had the full support of the president Khan a British educated military man who fought the people who did not want change …”
On the minister of agriculture in China in the 1970s Dr. He Chang – “he coordinated all the efforts to restore soil fertility … He had to do much of what the extension leaders in India and Pakistan did – he had to convince the farmers to try fertilizer and then convince government to help support the programs and give a better price for yield to farmers.”

Could you make some comments on your work in Africa as compared to Southern Asia?

“Asia had a rail system and a road system that led from the country to the railroad … the cotton industry was able to succeed because of this. Whereas in Africa the rail system went directly to the mineral mines so agriculture is stunted in spite of technological advances in grain … also the cost of getting fertilizer to Africa is making progress there more difficult.”

Could you make a comment about your home area of Saude, Iowa in relation to observations in the world?

A. “The US was blessed with a road system along with usable water transport. The Cresco/Saude area where I grew up had roads marked out in square miles. It was a progressive plan that enabled the US to do so well in many ways and especially in food production …”